1 Chronicles 20: 1 – 8
You ain’t so big
20 It happened in the spring of the year, at the time kings go out to battle, that Joab led out the armed forces and ravaged the country of the people of Ammon and came and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. And Joab defeated Rabbah and overthrew it. 2 Then David took their king’s crown from his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it. And it was set on David’s head. Also, he brought out the spoil of the city in great abundance. 3 And he brought out the people who were in it, and put them to work with saws, with iron picks, and with axes. So, David did to all the cities of the people of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem. 4 Now it happened afterward that war broke out at Gezer with the Philistines, at which time Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Sippai, who was one of the sons of the giant. And they were subdued. 5 Again there was war with the Philistines, and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. 6 Yet again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, with twenty-four fingers and toes, six on each hand and six on each foot; and he also was born to the giant. 7 So when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him. 8 These were born to the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
In reviewing this chapter my mind jumped to a song by Jimmy Reed called Big Boss Man. Here are the Lyrics
Big boss man
Can't you hear me when I call?
Big boss man
Can't you hear me when I call?
Well, you ain't so big
You're just tall, that's all
Got me working, boss man
Working 'round the clock
I want me a drink of water
But you won't let Jimmy, stop
Big boss man
Can't you hear me when I call?
Well, you ain't so big
You just tall, that's all
Well, I’m gonna get me a boss man
One gonna treat me right
Work hard in the day time
Rest easy at night
Big boss man
Can't you hear me when I call?
Well, you ain't so big
You’re just tall, that's all
Today’s chapter is only 8 verses long, but it is filled with amazing action. I have seen some advertisements for an HBO movie series called Game of Thrones. I do not have HBO, but the small advertisement caught my attention. Part of the war scene had ‘giants’ fighting in the battles. They looked to be about 5 times the height of the other warriors. This got me thinking about the giants that David and his men faced off against. Unlike the make-believe action figures of the television movie David and his men faced the real Giants and they did not play for New York or San Francisco.
We are going to read just some small snippets of the bravery of David and his men. When we go over these verses I encourage you sometime later just to think about what these men accomplished.
What follows is based on 2 Samuel 11.1; 12.26, 30-31. It was a consequence of Ammon’s insult to David and the battles that followed. Now was the time to finally make Ammon pay for its insult. Rabbah was taken, along with other cities, and they were deliberately desolated and rendered nonhabitual.
20 It happened in the spring of the year, at the time kings go out to battle, that Joab led out the armed forces and ravaged the country of the people of Ammon and came and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. And Joab defeated Rabbah and overthrew it.
The return of the year was the period after the rains when men were relatively free from the requirements of the land, and when the roads were most suitable for travel. It was thus the time of the year when kings ‘go out’ (on looting expeditions or to battle). This is deliberately set in contrast with the fact that David did not ‘go out’. He ‘stayed at Jerusalem’ and sent Joab, together with his commanders and officers (his servants) and all Israel instead.
The prophet Ezekiel warned us all about the danger of just taking it easy and being idle in chapter 16 of his book, “Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. We know what happened to David because he stayed back and was not out with his brothers – He fell into adultery.
The purpose of their ‘going out’ was probably to avenge the insult described in 19.4-5, when David’s messengers had been shamed. The Aramaeans having finally been subdued it was now time for the Ammonites to get what they had asked for. And the result was that the Ammonites’ countryside was ‘wasted’. That is, their towns and villages were taken and put to the sword, and their fields were devastated, with the result that large numbers of the people fled for refuge to the strong fortress city of Rabbah, the capital city of Ammon. Then it was a matter of reducing Rabbah which Joab subsequently did (2 Samuel 12.26).
2 Then David took their king’s crown from his head, and found it to weigh a talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it. And it was set on David’s head. Also, he brought out the spoil of the city in great abundance.
In the book of 2 Samuel 12.30 David’s loyal general Joab requested David come and join the end of the battle so he would receive all the credit for the victory. Once the city was taken the ceremonial crown of the king of Ammon was taken ‘from off his head’ and set on David’s head. It was a crown of pure gold encrusted with jewels and was very heavy. It was thus probably a ceremonial crown and not for everyday usage. The ‘talent of gold’ was presumably a light talent of around 66 pounds. I would say that going around wearing that crown would give you neck problems. The crown indicated that he was now king of Ammon. And as well as the crown a huge amount of spoil was taken from the city. It was openly apparent that YHWH had again caused David to prosper.
3 And he brought out the people who were in it, and put them to work with saws, with iron picks, and with axes. So, David did to all the cities of the people of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
It was common practice for the warriors of a city which had resisted a siege to be put to death (Deuteronomy 20.12-14). This was to encourage cities to surrender without a siege, and also so as to ensure that once the army had moved on to further conquests it could not be attacked from behind by a vengeful group of enemy soldiers. The provision in Deuteronomy was merciful in contrast with others, as well as being practical, for many conquerors would slaughter all the inhabitants, apart from those whom they took away as slaves. The cities were cut up with saws, harrows of iron and axes. The aim was to make the cities useless for defense.
4 Now it happened afterward that war broke out at Gezer with the Philistines, at which time Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Sippai, who was one of the sons of the giant. And they were subdued.
Here we learn that war again arose at Gezer with the Philistines. We are not told whether this son of the giant, whose name was Sippai (2 Samuel calls him Saph which has the same initial consonants), came forth as a champion to challenge Israel, as Goliath had done before him, or whether he was just slain in battle. But either way he was slain by Sibbecai the Hushathite, one of David’s ‘thirty’ (11.29), and therefore the Philistines were defeated and brought back into subjection.
5 Again there was war with the Philistines, and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.
What is described here took place in a further war with the Philistines. The Philistines now had a new ‘Goliath’ in the person of, Lahmi the brother of the old Goliath whom David slew. Like the old Goliath he too had a spear staff like a weaver’s beam. But Elhanan the son of Jair slew him (2 Samuel 21.19 calls him the son of Jaare-oregim of Bethlehem). This may well have been the same Elhanan as that in 2 Samuel 23.24, whose father’s name was Dodo, of Bethlehem. His father may simply have had different names, or Jair may have been a famous ancestor. The Philistine champion having been defeated the rout of the Philistines would follow.
6 Yet again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, with twenty-four fingers and toes, six on each hand and six on each foot; and he also was born to the giant. 7 So when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David’s brother, killed him.
This appears to confirm that each giant stood forward as a champion of the Philistines to challenge Israel, for this one ‘defied Israel’ (1 Samuel 17.26). He was a huge man with excess fingers and toes, which were probably seen as giving him an advantage. But he met his match when Jonathan, David’s nephew, slew him.
8 These were born to the giant in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
The huge men who have been described were all sons of ‘the giant of Gath’. They no doubt had a fearsome reputation, thus their slaughter ‘by the hand of David’ would increase his reputation immensely. They were, of course slain by his warriors, but in common parlance that meant ‘by the hand of David’, for he was responsible for sending his servants to fight the ‘giants’.
This account brings us to the end of the section outlining the successes of David (18-20). It clearly played an important part in the Chronicler’s depiction of David’s relationship with YHWH, and of his being YHWH’s chosen one, a picture of the chosen one yet to come. It was a picture which deliberately omitted all his failures (see almost all of 2 Samuel 11.2-20.22) to reveal him as the almost ideal king.
